Adventurers Wanted! - A Dragon's Tale
by Kakomine
Summary: Admit it. We've all wanted to be dragged off somewhere on this epic adventure, away from our normal lives. It never happened... right? Until now. Lucy Heartfilia and Sting Hearfilia - twins, age 17 - have been dragged into a world where dragons, magic, and flying and talking cats exist freely. Cast into an adventure against her free will, Lucy will make friends and fall in love.
1. The Portal

Chapter 1

During the midst of night, when everything has past fallen asleep, it was still. Nothing or no one moved out in the cobbled streets of the Heartfilia Estate's town. Until...

"I hate you, father!" A resounding smack soon followed, and the quickening of steps as they raced through the small town, away from the aforementioned man.

Lucy Heartfilia. Heiress to the Heartfilia wealth, daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia... who has long since been dead for the past three or four years. Her death was the cause of Jude Heartfilia's latest obsession with money and power. He would do anything to get those two things, even sell his own daughter off to another man.

Which leads us to our current predicament.

Lucy ran through the empty streets, not caring where her feet took her. How dare he?! To sell his daughter off to some conniving, selfish, money-obsessed, perverted man who gave no concern to her well-being - only her body. And her father would be the one garnering over ten million jewels, not to mention another company once she walked down the aisle. She knew her brother - Sting - would try and defend her cause, but it would be futile. It was her father who was the Master of the house.

Finally skidding to a halt when she felt that she was far away enough from that revolting mansion, she leaned against a store window, panting. Moments later, there was another set of feet heading her direction, with bigger and heavier steps. Lucy tensed, until the silhouette of her brother came into view from turning a corner. He also took a moment to catch his breath, then looked up at Lucy and grinned.

"You sure do run fast, sis," he huffed in mock exasperation, "Such improper behavior for a lady..."

Lucy scoffed and smacked his head. "Oh, shut up. You know I'm not a lady and will never be one. I know you want away from this place as much as I do."

Sting's playful mood dissipated into a sober one. "I know. Father thinks that I am superior to you... even though I'm only a minute older. It's not right."

Lucy sneered. "I don't even want to call him 'Father'. He never was one to either of us."

Sting sighed, his anger boiling under the surface. "I totally agr- ...Hey, what's this...?"

Raising an eyebrow, she turned around to look at the window of the shop she was leaning on. Her hopes for escaping together with her brother escalated. This could be their way out of the estate. A sign that was plastered onto the inside of the window read, "Adventurers Wanted! Adventure Time Lapse: 3 Months; Company Leader: Natsu Dragneel; Time: Friday, June 7th 10:00 am; Experienced Adventurers Preferred

"Aw." Lucy pouted. "It says that experienced adventurers are preferred..."

Sting, however, was not deterred. "No. It doesn't matter. Whoever these people are... they can still take us. Tomorrow, let's come back with necessaries packed. We are getting out of here."

* * *

Lucy yawned, stretched, and rubbed her bleary eyes. Another boring day, waiting for the inevitable time she would walk down the aisle towards that pervert- Hold up. Suddenly, the young Heartfilia heiress brightened, and she remembered the events that transpired the night before. She and Sting would be getting out of this hellhole... hopefully forever.

Quickly, she bolted out of bed and locked the door to her room. Maids would usually come in while she was getting dressed, but she wouldn't really mind. Today was the exception. Lucy didn't want them reporting to her Father that she was packing things into a small crimson backpack her mother had given her for her eleventh birthday. The - now - ex-heiress rifled through drawer, pulling out random articles of clothing. She paused as she looked at a rifle that was kept hidden in the bottom of her shirts drawer.

Thinking quickly when she heard someone try the doorknob to her room, Lucy grabbed the rifle. She stuffed it in her bag, grimacing when the barrel stuck out of the top. She knew it'd have to do; time was running out. Lucy knew one of the maids had already sent for her 'Father' to order her out of the room. However, she would not even be there when he unlocked it with his own key. She'd be long gone with Sting, to place without domineering fathers and greedy perverts.

"Lucy! Come out this instant! It is not proper for a lady to lock out her maids. They need to help you dress properly for breakfast," the aforementioned girl's father called from out in the hallway.

"I can dress on my own, Jude! I am not two!" Lucy yelled back, annoyed.

There was a sudden and eerie quietness, then Jude whispered loudly enough to hear from behind the door. "What did you just call me, daughter?!"

Lucy flinched while dressing by the amount of venom in her formal title. She then calmly replied, "I called you Jude, Jude."

By this time, Lucy had finished changing into her casual clothing: her blue skirt and her favorite Heart Kruez shirt. Jude - she could tell - was trying to break down her door, and with all haste, she opened her rather large window and leaped out to snatch a branch so she didn't break any bones. Quickly, Lucy scrambled down it just in time to hear her bedroom door finally being smashed open. She ran through the bushes and flower beds of the mansion itself, threw her backpack over the fence, and scaled it. Once on the other side, she grabbed her backpack and never looked back.

"Lucy!" A masculine voice called to her right.

Lucy turned mid-run and saw Sting waving at her from the opposite side of the Heartfilia mansion, hefting his backpack up. The pack looked suspiciously like it had been stuffed with grenades. Which it probably was, since Sting loved messing with explosives, and had his own little 'workshop' in the basement.

Lucy slowed to a jog so Sting could catch up. He glanced towards Lucy's backpack and said, "Looks like you can prepared, too. I brought my grenades. In some of them I added an extra bonus: needles!"

"Lovely," Lucy replied dryly, "Now all we have to do when those things blow is find cover... unless they don't rip us to shreds beforehand."

"Ah, but that's the beauty of it," Sting chided his sister, "The grenades are coded to our fingerprints, and the needles won't fire in the direction of the user."

"Show off..." Lucy muttered.

In response, Sting stuck his tongue out at her. By this time, the duo had reached the estate town. There were only a few shopkeepers around because most of the residents were at the Heartfilia Mansion, minding their own work. Lucy drew out a map in her head, and tried retracing her path from the night before to that strange shop Sting had noticed. Lucy succeeded in finding the shop. Luckily.

Lucy tried the door. "Darn, it's locked."

Sting peered through the windows. "The shop doesn't look like it's been used in years... But the sign is gone. Somebody must have taken it..."

Lucy frowned, then brightened at a sudden idea. "Sting, turn around."

"Huh? Why- ...Hey!"

Sting yelped when Lucy forcefully made him turn around. He was stuck there, uncomfortable, for a few seconds when his twin went rummaging through is carefully-packed backpack. She made an "Ah-ha!" sound, and strode towards the mysterious shop's door. Sting turned around to see what his genius sister was planning, when he grinned. Of course. He taught Lucy how to lock pick things when they were younger. Said girl was struggling with the lock. At first, Sting thought she needed some help, when Lucy pushed the door inside.

The door opened with a loud CREEEEEEK. The duo stepped inside and glanced around. The wooden frame of the inside of the building looked very warped with age. There were a few tables and chairs; some were toppled, and others smashed. A few bookshelves lined the walls, some with books and some without. There were even some books lying on the ground with a few pages ripped out. Dust coated everything in a fine sheen that did not look disturbed for quite some time. A lone wardrobe sat in a dark corner, away from the light of the windows. It looked slightly out of place, with odd carvings and runes decorated upon it. One such carving - a dragon - was at the bottom of the wardrobe. It looked almost... sad.

Lucy was drawn to the wardrobe and its dragon carving, unnaturally so. Sting, however, was alarmed at her sudden interest in the strange object.

"Lucy," he whispered harshly, "What are you doing? Don't touch this stuff, they could be traps!"

"No," Lucy breathed, "This wardrobe isn't dangerous. It seems so... warm and... inviting."

Sting, who was far beyond terrified for his sister, replied quickly and nervously, "Lucy, step away from the wardrobe. Now."

Lucy was within arms reach of the wardrobe by then. She hadn't realized her feet had taken her this far until then. She crouched down to where the dragon was, and gently touched it with her fingertip. Like it was awakened from a deep and miserable sleep, the dragon suddenly started moving. It paused for a moment, seemingly staring at Lucy, then started weaving its way through the other carvings, and onto the top rim of the wardrobe's doorframe. Lucy slowly backed away.

"Sting, w-what's happening?" Lucy stuttered, grabbing onto her twin's shirt.

"I know only as much as you do, sis..."

The dragon reached the top of the wardrobe's doorframe, and circled - as if it was chasing its tail - for a moment, then settled into a single, ring-like position. The dragon then glowed red, and the wardrobe opened.

Inside the wardrobe was a complete black, a void which the twins could not see through. Lucy grinned, pleased that it was nothing more than an empty wardrobe.

"See?" Lucy teased her brother, turning her back on the wardrobe. "It's just a dusty, old wardrobe. It must've been used as a coat closet, that's all."

"Humph. So? You were scared for a moment, too, blondie," Sting grumbled.

"HEY! You're blonde too, ya know! And you were the one getting nervous about this stupid old thing first, anyway!" Lucy retorted, crossing her arms over her ample chest.

Suddenly, a small gust lifted Lucy's skirt a little and started making her hair move around. Seeing that Sting had paled almost the point of transparent-ness, Lucy turned. There, where the darkness of the wardrobe had been, was a snowy white mountain cap. Not to mention, there was a blizzard. And it was sucking Lucy and Sting in.

"Sting!" Lucy screamed, and reached out to grab her brother.

However, he was gone.

Leaving Lucy stuck in the middle of a blizzard, on the top of a mountain.

Not to mention... In the middle of nowhere.

* * *

**Hola~! Mi amigos, I am back! And I come with a new policy; I will now be updating two chapters at a time! So, you guys will have more to read before the next update. Plus, this will be a good change for me because a lot of people have been dropping off on their update patterns, so I decided to step up to the plate to - hopefully - replace them for the time being. Even if I am not half the author a lot of those people are. Anyway, this is just the introduction, and as mentioned earlier, I will be updating two chapters at a time now (not including this update). Sayonara~!**

**~Kakomine**


	2. Reunited

Chapter 2

"Stupid blizzard, stupid wardrobe, stupid me, stupid Sting..." Lucy muttered as she used her backpack to brace herself against the raging blizzard... not that it really helped.

Lucy had been traveling for about ten minutes since she crossed over from the shop onto the mountain. It was a wonder she had not been frozen into a Lucy-cube. Her narrowed eyes glanced upward and spotted a somewhat large cave a few feet ahead. Grinning, Lucy slugged her way through the snow separating her from a - hopefully - warmer cave. Once inside, the poor ex-heiress tossed her backpack onto the icy floor and started kicking it deeper into the cave.

Lucy started studying the cave walls as she ambled further into the darkness. It seemed as if there were veins of different hues of crystal running throughout the walls of the cave. She watched in amazement as they started to glow the deeper into the cave she went.

"Amazing," Lucy breathed in awe.

Her spirits brightened even more when she spotted a small-ish cubby in the crystallized cave wall. Perfect for her body size. She could stay in there for the night. Being the typical girl in the way of packing, she was always prepared. Which means she packed food. Unfortunately, she only brought energy bars - bleh - and mini frozen meals. Lucy thought for moment, then nodded to herself. Water would be easy. Just take some ice or snow and melt it.

Lucy took out her rifle from her backpack and placed it next to her. She then found a box of matches, and lit some of them, placing the ignited sticks in various crevices near her cubby. Digging through her backpack once more, Lucy took out an energy bar and unwrapped it. Even though the blonde wasn't that hungry, she knew her stomach needed the food to keep going.

More than ever, Lucy was scared. Scared for herself, scared of the unknown, and absolutely terrified for Sting. Who knows what he packed in his backpack... it could be life or death! Lucy groaned. Her twin could be so stupid at times. She shook her head, relieving her mind of such thoughts. She needed to focus on her own survival, lest she become frozen. Then she couldn't think at all. She quickly finished her energy bar, any other trace of hunger long gone.

Lucy shivered at her previous dark thoughts, then continued unpacking for the night ahead. She unrolled a plain blue sleeping bag and laid it out as best she could in the small cubby. Glancing around at her impromptu campsite, Lucy sighed. It was the best she could do on the top of a God-knows-how-high mountain. If she was even on a mountain at all; it could be just a very large wintry area with absolutely zero warmth. With her tiny meal finished, the unpacking done, Lucy crawled into her sleeping bag in the cubby. As soon as her head hit the top of the sleeping bag, she was fast asleep, not to be awakened until morning.

* * *

The old red dragon trudged through the snowy mountain, seeking shelter from the unrelenting blizzard winds. He huffed, seeing there was only one small cave, barely big enough to keep his form inside. Still, he trudged right in, seeing no other large predators claiming it as their home. Once inside, he turned every which way to make himself comfortable before settling down. The old wyrm's eyes roamed the crystallized walls, finding them nice to look at. Until his eyes fell upon the young human girl shivering in her sleep in a small cubby. Why, her lips were already slightly blue!

Grunting, the red dragon reached his leathery wing over to the girl and brought her near his extremely warm body. It would be good enough for her to stop shivering, at least. What surprised him most was when she stopped shivering immediately and even cuddled up to his belly. Smiling, the old dragon remembered fondly his own half-breed son, whom he had to leave for his safety. This girl would make an exceptional mate and life-long best friend for his son, he could feel it! The way she was so automatically comfortable with his heat, even when they had never met before.

Laying his large head down onto the cave floor, the old red dragon decided. He would leave the girl near where his son currently stayed. Things would just have to play out on their own.

* * *

Rising from the comfortable pit of sleep, Lucy stretched her arms above her head, smiling. It was so warm, and the ground was so soft...

Wait.

Lucy snapped her eyes open, immediately remembering her situation at that freezing mountain with the blizzard. But a couple of tiny details - she was in a forest, and it was so warm. Lucy looked around herself, very confused. She knew that when she went to sleep, she was in a cave full of crystals on the top of a mountain. ... Was it possible someone carried her here? No, that couldn't be possible! A warm forest like this must be far away from a snowy place like where she was before.

Just then - to her left side - was her things, packed neatly into her backpack. And a note. Tilting her head in curiosity, the ex-heiress crawled over to her pile of supplies and picked up the note. It read:

_Dear Lucy,_

_Do not be alarmed. You are probably thinking 'Who sent me this, and how do they know my name?' Well, the second question is easy to answer. You had your name on that strange body-shaped bag you were cuddled up in when I found you. My first question is difficult to answer, and not in the way you're thinking. 'Oh, it's just some lunatic who doesn't even know their own name.' Wrong._

Lucy blushed. This stranger was definitely predicting her pattern of thoughts quite easily.

_You see, my name is Igneel... the fire dragon. It was I who carried you down to the forest. It only seemed right, you would've frozen to death. Also... you are near a town. I suggest you move there quickly. Bandits patrol for loners at night. Good luck!_

_Best Wishes,_

_Igneel_

_P.S. I suggest signing up to join the guild, Fairy Tail._

Lucy blinked. What an odd letter. It was almost as if... the writer knew her intimately. Strange. Well... Lucy glanced up at the blushing sky. It was almost sundown. She might as well start looking for town lights.

* * *

Damn that person! There's no way that there is a town nearby. I don't see any such "town lights". Lucy thought venomously. She had been climbing trees to look for any sort of artificial or man-made light. So far, it had been a no-go. Lucy sighed, and started climbing a tree with a nice-looking nook in it. A perfect place to lay down her sleeping bag. Once she finished setting up her small "camp" up in the tree, Lucy wondered about that letter she had read earlier. This... "dragon", Igneel. Was what he said true about the bandits? Lucy shivered. She hoped not.

Lucy yawned, and buried her face into her sleeping bag. Well, there was no point in staying awake now. She only wished she had not opened that wardrobe.

* * *

Lucy's eyes snapped open. Automatically, she checked the sky. It was still dark out. What had awoken her? Suddenly, the harsh noise of drunk men laughing reached her ears. Looking down from her perch up in the tree, Lucy had to really work not to yelp in fear.

Below her, several men were sitting in a circle around a fire, chucking empty bottles of whiskey at each other. They were telling stories about the women they raped, the caravans they looted, the most recent kill. And they were roaring with laughter about it! Lucy shivered in disgust. She needed to get out of here. Looking around at her small camp up in the tree, she sighed. She would not be taking all of it, that's for damn certain.

Quickly, Lucy put her matches, gun, first aid kit, and food in her backpack. She climbed the tree until she was at the top, then glanced around, hoping against hope there was some sort of town lights. She brightened. There! She could now make out faintly some lights to the left of her. She then gazed below her again. But that would mean she would have to go around these guys. Lucy cursed her luck.

"...and then she pleaded with me, saying, 'Please don't, I'm a virgin!' I told her, 'Sweetheart, that just makes me want you more,'" one of the bandits was saying, recalling a couple of stories from a week ago. Everyone roared in laughter.

"Seems like she wa' a dull one, eh, Rick?" another sneered. 'Rick' grinned and chuckled.

Then another one seemed intent on recalling one of his adventures. "Oh yeah, reminds me when my troop raided a caravan. Lots of women on... I let my boys have them, while I took the money. And a jewel or two. This one guy, though, he tried ta'- Hey. What's that?"

Everyone looked to where he was pointing, to see a blond haired girl with a great body. The man named Rick stepped forward and started languidly walking towards her. Lucy was frozen in fear. She wasn't gonna get raped was she? Slowly, she turned her head. He was getting closer... She hoped she didn't need to use her gun...

Lucy quickly turned around, and pointed her gun at him. "Don't move, or I shoot," she snarled.

Rick looked confused for a moment, then grinned like nothing else in the world was funnier. "What's that? Some sort of contraption that shoots rocks? That ain't gonna hurt me."

A glint came in her eye. "Oh? Would you like to test that out?" Lucy truly hadn't wanted to use the gun, but it was her virginity or these low-lifes.

Rick came ever closer to her still form. Lucy cocked her gun, and rested her finger on the trigger. "Three... two... one... Any closer, and I'll shoot."

"Oh, yeah? Bring it, la-" His voice was cut off my a shriek, and then a resounding thump. He was dead. Smoke floated lazily out of the barrel. She sighed. He didn't listen. Biting her lip, the realization finally dawned on her. She had killed someone. Lucy felt sick. She dropped the gun and bolted.

"Hey!" Oh no. They were after her! Tears streaming out of her eyes, she ran faster than she had ever before. Did she really have to kill that man? Now she was a murderer...

Thinking quickly, Lucy remembered the town lights. Yes! She could go there! She jumped over some tree roots sticking out of the ground. The heavy footsteps of several men followed. Lucy gritted her teeth. She absolutely would not get caught! The ex-heiress reached a large clearing in the forest. On the other side, she could barely glimpse the dark form of city gates. By this time, she was breathing hard, and her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest.

Lucy checked behind her. It seemed the bandits were slowing down. She wondered why. Turning around, the poor blond figured it out. There were guards at the gate, and they had their swords drawn, ready to strike at her.

"Wait!" she called out. "I'm not trying to hurt anyone!"

The guards looked very confused for a moment, but didn't back down. Lucy slowed her pace stopping a few yards from the wary guards.

"Uh... there were guys chasing me? Wanting to rape me? Bandits?" Lucy was trying to talk to them, but they seemed to look even more confused.

"Kanojo wa nani o itte iru?" one of the guards spoke to the other one. Lucy's spirits dropped. They couldn't understand her. So she held up her hands as a - hopefully - universal sign of surrender.

The other guard nodded his head slowly, understanding. He saw more figures behind her when she came charging at him and his friend. They must've been chasing her.

"Watashi wa kanojo ga machi no uchigawa ni kitai to omoimasu. Kanojo wa watashitachi ni hashitta mae ni, kanojo wa owa rete ita yō ni sore wa mieta," the second guard explained to the first.

The first guard nodded, the turned to Lucy. He gestured for her to follow him. Tentatively, the blond walked behind him. The second guard opened the gates just wide enough to allow them passage, then pulled them shut. Lucy watched the city in awe; to her, it was beautiful. Many of the houses had its own theme. Some had many flowers, others had a few bush sculptures, and still others went for the variety look, with bushes, flowers, large lawns, and everything in between.

However, it was very early in the morning, so Lucy couldn't appreciate the entirety of the city's beauty. Then, she heard a very familiar voice.

"Lucy?!"

* * *

**Hahahahahaha! Guess who this mysterious voice belongs to! ...actually this should be pretty easy, since there is only one prominent character in the story so far, besides Lucy. Hope you enjoyed this chapter in my update! R&R, I would appreciate it!**

**~Kakomine**


	3. New Friend

Chapter 3

"Lucy?!"

The aforementioned girl turned in place, brown eyes locking with blue-grey ones. She smiled brightly, missing the man before her.

"Sting!" she yelped, before diving into his arms. "Where were you?!"

She sobbed. "I was so scared! Blizzard, dragon, note..." Sting tapped her head, and she looked up.

"It's ok, sis. We'll talk at my house. Some kind of blacksmith gave me a job, so I got the money to buy one of these cool houses," he explained. He turned to the guard. "Thank you, guard. She's my sister; I'll take her now."

The guard nodded curtly, then walked back to his post, the metal of his armour clinking on the ground with each step. Lucy aged up at him with questioning eyes, and Sting shook head head. "As I said, we need to talk in my house. There are people watching us right now, so we need to be careful about what we say."

"But they can't understand me." Lucy pouted.

Sting paused. "True. But they can understand me." He turned his head to the side to reveal a small diamond hanging from his ear.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. Sting explained, "It's a small gift from my boss - Shinji - that lets the people here understand me."

"Oh."

"Now, come on. I'm hungry, and I don't see a cooking pot anywhere around here, do you?"

* * *

A few minutes later, they arrived at Sting's fairly modest home. Lucy looked around the interior of his tiny house. It was clear to her that he just moved in. Only his belongings from his backpack were placed in particular areas of the house. His grenades were nowhere in sight; she supposed that was smart. What shocked Lucy was that he actually brought pictures of him and Lucy in their childhood, sitting next to their mother in the garden. Their mother... Layla. Lucy approached the photo, and gently picked it up. Closing her eyes, she fondly remembered a memory of her brother and mother.

_Flashback_

_"Mama! Look, Sting found a shiny rock!" sever-year-old Lucy shouted to her mother, running int her arms._

_"Mom, Mom! I found some really cool rock in the garden!" Sting was right behind his younger sister of ten seconds._

_Layla giggled. "Of course you two managed to find something odd in the garden. What is it?"_

_Sting proudly held up his find, and Layla smiled. It was a fairly large quartz stone. "This is quartz. In some regions, these are rumored to tell their finder's distant future. Let's see..." Layla thought for a moment, "That would place you two in about your teens, I would think."_

_Lucy pouted. "Aw! Just tell us already!"_

_Layla smiled, knowing who really found the quartz stone. She turned it over a few times in her palm, then noticed a reddish hue about it. Looking closer, she realized that flame-like patterns swirled inside of the rock's exterior. Layla sighed. So her daughter was really destined to be an Adventurer... being the mate of a dragon, that is. The twins were eagerly staring at her, awaiting her response._

_Layla tried to tell them without giving them then entire truth. Thinking quickly, she told them, "Lucy is going to fall in love with someone that has a fiery temper."_

_Sting started laughing and rolling on the ground, pointing his small finger at Lucy, who was blushing insanely. She yelled at Sting, "Oh, knock it off! I'd like to see who you fall in love with. I bet it'll be some girl who's obsessed with shoes and makeup. And who doesn't pay attention to you. Hmph!"_

_Sting pumped his fist in victory. "But that's just it. I ain't falling in love, and you know it!"_

_"That's because of your bratty personality," Lucy sneered._

_"Exact- HEY!"_

_"Now, now you two, calm down. You wouldn't want your father getting angry, would you?"_

_Both twins responded, "No!"_

_End Of Flashback_

"You done staring at the photos yet?"

Startled, Lucy set the photo back down on the shelf, almost dropping it. She grinned sheepishly, "Y-yeah, sorry about that. Just remembering that time when we found that quartz rock."

Sting made a face. "Yeah, when Mom told us you'd fall in love with someone that had a bad temper? Hasn't happened yet. I'm not sure if I actually believe in that kind of stuff, anyways. Come on, dinner's ready."

Lucy - at the mention of food - made a mad dash to the kitchen, and piled as much food as she could fit on her plate. "Food! Ah, real food. I've only had energy bars since I've arrived here."

Sting sat down at the dining room table with his plate already filled. "Which would be about... two days, if you arrived at the same time as me."

Lucy was scarfing down chunks of steak. Her eyes widened at the mention of time. "Reawy? Damn, rats why I shtarvin!"

"Yeah, well, at least sit at the table when you eat so you don't drop bits of food..."

Sting's sweat dropped as he watched Lucy try to speak with her mouth full. It made sense that she would let go of all of the strict etiquettes of the Heartfilia household that quickly. After all, she was adventurous at heart, unlike so many of the girlish and vain 'potential fiancées' his father introduced him to. Sting would much prefer a girl with at least a kind personality, though he would die before spilling that to Lucy, who would no doubt tease him about it until the day he died.

Lucy finished scarfing down her food, pausing for a moment, then turning to Sting (who was still trying to finish his steak) with a curious look on her pretty face. "Sting... I was wondering... what's with all of this medieval reference? I mean, honestly, you work for a blacksmith? And these bandits I ran into a while ago - they were looking at my gun like it was something from outer space. Another thing I noticed... your lack of an electric stove. You've got a freakin' cauldron on top of your fireplace!"

Putting his fork down, Sting swiped a hand through his hair. He knew this question was bound to come up in their conversations. "First... Lucy, you do realize we are in a completely different dimension, right? Time flows in the exact same pace as the place we come from."

Lucy's brown eyes widened in realization. "So you're saying... that right now is the exact same date as it is on Earth?!"

Sting nodded his head solemnly. "Precisely."

Lucy, stunned by this new information, leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. After a moment of attempting to relax her mind, she stood up suddenly, and stated, "I'm going outside to process this new... realization."

She speed-walked through the front door, shutting it quietly. Sting called out after her, "Be careful!"

He sighed, and looked at his sister's plate. "Honestly... Next time, she'll be the one to clean..."

* * *

After wandering around part of the city for god-knows how long, Lucy found herself sitting on the branch of a tree, overlooking the lower sections of the area. Lucy smiled to herself.

"Pretty," she whispered. Many of these interesting houses lay before her in small neighborhoods. Separating these neighborhoods were small plazas, where Lucy suspected lots of business went on during the day time.

Lucy's thoughts then took a meandering towards the darker side. She wondered what her father was doing, and if he was worried about them or not. No, she decided. He was probably more worried about not getting just the right business deal without her hand in a marriage. _But he's my father_, Lucy scolded herself. Her tiny debate with two sides of mind raged on until...

"What're you doing, sitting in the Sakura Tree all alone at night? Magnolia isn't exactly crime-free, you know," a voice that chimed like little bells asked. Shocked, Lucy turned around. Was there someone in this strange and foreign town who could speak her language?

A petite, blue-haired girl stood at the foot of the tree, carrying two heavy-looking books. She wore red glasses, accentuating the fact that she was a bookworm. Maybe she studied foreign languages? Lucy asked in return, "Who are you? And how can you speak my language, since apparently no one else can?"

The small bluenette adjusted her glasses and replied, "Levy McGarden. Also, if you haven't noticed, I am quite the reader. And I also know Sting-kun. He's your brother, correct?"

Lucy smiled. Maybe she could trust this 'Levy'. The blond climbed down from her perch until she was standing right next to Levy. "Twin, actually. The name's Lucy. Also, I'm a bit of a bookworm myself."

Levy held out her hand while trying to balance the two books in her other arm. "Nice to meet you, Lu-chan!"

"Same, Levy-chan!" Lucy giggled. She was sure they would become best friends. "Here, let me take that one book from you..."

As Levy walked Lucy home, they chatted about this and that, what Lucy's world was like, and how Levy got to know Sting. Levy also mentioned the guild Fairy Tail, and how she was a member. She then went on to say that the guild was accepting applications to join it. Apparently, if you were approved after applying, you were "measured" to fit a weapon.

"Measured?" Lucy wondered, "What do you mean by that? Please don't tell me they measure your entire body..."

Levy laughed. "No, no, no, nothing like that! Anyways, maybe I'll see you tomorrow? I could explain things better then." She yawned. "I'm pretty tired right now... and we're here."

Lucy noticed that - in fact - they had arrived at Sting's small cottage. She made a mental note to herself to explore the town more, so that she had less of a chance of getting lost. "When should I meet up with you tomorrow?"

Levy thought for a moment. "Would ten o' clock be a good time? I'm having breakfast with couple of friends at eight, and that might take a while..."

Lucy watched her friend's sweat drop. "We'll, I guess I'm free pretty much all day tomorrow, so ten's good! Good night, Levy-chan!"

Levy watched her new friend walk through the gate and towards Sting's front door. "Goodnight, Lu-chan!"

* * *

On the way back to Fairy Hills, Levy happened to glance up, and saw a pink-haired teen leaving a diner, patting his stomach. He glanced up as well, and his face stretched into a 100-watt grin.

"Yo, Levy! Who was that blondie you were talking to earlier?" The pinkette greeted, his wide onyx, yet childish eyes curious.

Levy frowned. "Natsu!" she scolded, "It's rude to stalk people, you know!"

"But I wasn't stalking you!" Natsu insisted, "Just curious!"

Levy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I asked her to sign up for the Fairy Tail application, if that makes you happy. Did you find anyone else for the expedition?"

Natsu frowned slightly, his mood dimming. "No. I don't think I'll find anyone before we're due to set out."

Levy smiled brightly. "Don't worry, Natsu! You'll find someone!"

The bookworm turned on a passing street, waving goodbye. "Goodnight, Natsu! Don't say up too late fighting Gray!"

Natsu waved back at Levy, before turning and walking the opposite direction. He frowned, then muttered, "Most importantly, why does this girl smell like Igneel?"

* * *

**I get it. I have a lot of explaining to do. Okay, here goes. First... I had very important family business that needed to be taken care of. I was stuck in a house with terrible Wi-Fi, so I couldn't get squat reception. Second, I stayed there for one and a half week(s) because there was some huge argument that I was too young to take part in. Third, I have been very busy with golf practice four hours a day, golf tournaments, my mom wanting me to get out of the house, piano practice an hour a day, piano lesson, etc. And now I'm in Yosemite. Only reason why I have good enough Wi-Fi is because I am sitting in the lobby of Tenaya Lodge. Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this dual update!**

**~Kakomine**


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